Abstract

We report numerical and experimental investigations of asymmetric light propagation in a newly designed photonic structure that is formed by creating a chirped photonic crystal (PC) waveguide. The use of a non-symmetric distribution of unit cells of PC ensures the obtaining of asymmetric light propagation. Properly designing the spatial modulation of a PC waveguide inherently modifies the band structure. That in turn induces asymmetry for the light’s followed path. The investigation of the transmission characteristics of this structure reveals optical diode like transmission behavior. The amount of power collected at the output of the waveguide centerline is different for the forward and backward propagation directions in the designed configuration. The advantageous properties of the proposed approach are the linear optic concept, compact configuration and compatibility with the integrated photonics. These features are expected to hold great potential for implementing practical optical rectifier-type devices.

Cited By

OSA is able to provide readers links to articles that cite this paper by participating in CrossRef's Cited-By Linking service. CrossRef includes content from more than 3000 publishers and societies. In addition to listing OSA journal articles that cite this paper, citing articles from other participating publishers will also be listed.